The Virtual and the Alternative Realms

As we have repeatedly noted, Hermetic notions about the structure of the world imply a so-called “many-worlds” structure, providing the greatest possible field for the realization of the Absolute Spirit’s potential.

This is precisely how one may interpret the maxim of the “Emerald Tablet”:

“Et quod est supérius est sícut id quod est inférius, ad perpetránda (præparánda, penetránda) mirácula réi uníus.- And that which is above is analogous to that which is below, in order to accomplish the miracles of the One.”

At the same time, we mentioned that the ensemble of worlds, streams of reality, thus arising, has a dual nature: for each timeline it seems “real”, while the remaining possibilities are regarded as “virtual”, existing only in the space of possibilities.

In other words, each stream of mind, passing through its own line of experience, is linked to this line by causal chains, and therefore can generate energy only in this timeline; and thus it perceives other streams of probabilities as “devoid of energy”, as “virtual”.

This is exactly how the “overlay” of realities is carried out: they are separated from one another by nothing but a barrier of perception; they coexist in the same way as waking and dreaming, and that which for one world is “waking” turns out for another to be “dreaming”, and vice versa.

Thus, every being lives in an entire ocean of multiverses, yet perceives only the world in which its causal chain of perception develops.

From this point of view, it becomes clear that “worlds” and “Interworld” are not separate “spaces”, but rather only distinct perspectives, ways of describing reality; one can speak of them only in relation to a particular stream of mind (or an ensemble of coordinated streams).

Thus, one can speak of the Interval as “first-order virtuality”, as one of the types of “tzimtzum”, a limitation of the mind.

At the same time, the existence of a simpler virtuality is also perfectly obvious: digital reality, as well as distortions of perception characteristic of a number of “altered states of mind”. This “second-order virtuality” is not separated from the worlds by a barrier; it is sustained by energy from the real world and dependent on it. That is, if the Interval as a field of perception exists regardless of how much and what kind of energy enters it, then digital reality needs electricity in the same way as “hallucinatory” reality is fed by the energy of the physical body.

Accordingly, the mind can perceive multireality in two ways:

• as a multitude of complete event streams — timelines — separated by the barrier of perception, and
• as an ensemble of spaces generated with the participation of external energy, accessible to visit without severing one’s connection to their timeline.

Transition between first-order spaces is an extremely rare phenomenon, occurring during shifts in consciousness, after-death wanderings, or special trance or dream experiences. Immersion into second-order spaces, however, is an entirely commonplace phenomenon, occurring in dreams, hallucinations, and digital simulations.

It is not hard to understand that it is precisely the second type of experience that leads to greater energy loss, since such new perceptions activate the pneuma but do not release it, because to fulfill desires in second-order virtuality is impossible.

It is also obvious that it is precisely this energy that turns out to be the most accessible for leaking into first-order virtual spaces, since the very process of generating it involves a certain separation from reality, a gravitation toward virtuality.

We have already mentioned that this is precisely the reason for the spread of digital technologies for generating virtual realities in the modern world: our world is increasingly turning into a feeding ground for the beings of the Interval, increasingly losing its value and evolutionary potential.

It is obvious that in order to make this process irreversible, it is necessary to completely divert attention away from “first-order virtuality”, to make only “artificial virtuality” the field into which unusual desires and impulses cannot be realized in the ordinary world.

If only a few decades ago Magic and other forms of “expanded description of the world” were denied and vilified, in recent times they have been actively profaned. And, as is not difficult to understand, profanation is an even more effective way of denial than simple defamation. In the public mind, Magic, occultism, and the like teachings are firmly associated with marginal or charlatan strata of society, so that it is very difficult for a serious seeker to break through this enormous layer of pseudo-teachings, strange “practices”, and commercially oriented schools. As a result, those who could have been seeking and finding glimpses of other realities, accumulating power and authority for development and world liberation, are sitting at computers and “doing magic” in a digital environment.

A similar strategy was already used at the beginning of the 20th century, when, in order to suppress the surge of development of serious Orders and Schools, freakish “spiritualist” and similar groups sprang up like mushrooms after rain, reducing the Royal Art to table-turning séances or “letters of the mahatmas”. It is clear that such a stream of profanations in many ways washed away those seekers who could have continued and developed Traditional schools and approaches.

Accordingly, the modern situation requires urgent “restoration of Magic’s vitality”, rehabilitation of its reputation, and restoring its status as a serious science and art, called to develop and perfect both its adepts and the world as a whole.